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Policies in developing countries to improve
women’s access to paid work should also consider child welfare

Engaging in paid work is generally difficult for
women in developing countries. Many women work unpaid in family businesses
or on farms, are engaged in low-income self-employment activities, or work
in low-paid wage employment. In some countries, vocational training or
grants for starting a business have been effective policy tools for
supporting women’s paid work. Mostly lacking, however, are job and business
training programs that take into account how mothers’ employment affects
child welfare. Access to free or subsidized public childcare can increase
women’s labor force participation and improve children’s well-being.